Despite clever packaging, branding and commercials featuring more jungle than the Planet Earth series, the true origin of our products is a lot more industrial than we'd like to think. Cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market, so you could be exposed to a cocktail of chemicals you'd be better off using to clean your cooker or degrease your car engine.

I am an absolute typical example of a new breed of women. Been married, divorced, very independent, love my job, enjoy my freedom and subconsciously take it for granted that I will have children at some point. Is it wrong to want to be settled, secure, with a house and garden before we decide to reproduce? Morally and socially, no, but biologically we are taking a big gamble.

I was guilty of thinking acupuncture seemed like a silly thing to do. How can tiny needles in your skin and muscles do anything other than cause pain? After one session I had to eat my words. I don't like needles, but I would be happy to have one stuck between my eyes every day.

Look at the people around you. Who can't stop yawning? The clues are there, it's just that no one likes to admit it. Those who do confess get a barrage of unwanted tips. I have been tempted in the past to punch people who tell me warm baths, and whale music will solve my problems.

My mother's aneurysm was a shot across my bow. There's a chance I could develop a pocket of blood in my brain and I had just agreed to an MRI. Did I want to know if there was a ticking time bomb inside of me?